A fire engine parked at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in view of an attack threat on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 15

The UT police are on high alert following a threat of attack on the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Punjab Secretariat. The police have stepped up security at the two establishments.

The police said a letter, sent through a registered post, was received by the Registrar of the High Court. It was mentioned in the letter that a bomb attack had been planned at the High Court and the Secretariat on October 16. The letter has Punjabi words spelt in English. The person who purportedly wrote it stated that he was lodged in a jail where he met someone who told him that if he worked with his acquaintances outside the jail, he could earn well.

The unidentified writer mentioned that on October 8, he met two persons, Sulaiman and Hamid, who gave him Rs 10,000 and took him to Sangrur where they met some official. In the letter, it was stated that he, along with the duo, visited the city on October 10 and stayed at a hotel in Nayagaon.

The writer stated that Sulaiman and Hamid told him about the plan to attack the High Court and the Secretariat. Since he loved his country, he did not want any untoward incident to take place; so he was alerting the authorities, he stated.

After getting the information about the letter, cops tightened the security and carried out a search at the High Court and the Secretariat. A fire engine has also been stationed outside the High Court.

The police said a name, Paramjit Singh of Tangori, Punjab, was written at the back of the letter. A police team went to Tangori and questioned a person by this name. However, he was not found to be having any criminal background.

The police said a three-tier security had been set up outside both establishments. Besides, mounted staff and commandos of the operation cell were also deployed there.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Police and the Intelligence Wing have also been informed about the letter.

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